The California Baptist University men’s basketball team battled down the stretch, but a 17-point hole was too much to overcome.
JaKobe Coles scored a game-high 22 points as No. 3-seeded Grand Canyon University withstood the late comeback attempt by the Lancers and walked away with a 75-66 victory in a WAC Tournament semifinal game Friday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Grand Canyon looks for a third straight WAC Tournament title when it takes on top-seeded Utah Valley on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Dominique Daniels Jr. overcame a sluggish first-half performance and scored 18 points to lead the way for California Baptist.
The opening half was an offensive struggle for both sides, but Grand Canyon managed to take a 25-16 advantage into halftime.
Things changed when the teams returned, as Grand Canyon and California Baptist scored 50 points apiece in the second half.
CBU (17-15) found itself down 37-21 with 16 minutes left in the game. The Lancers were only 9 of 35 from the field at that point. Grand Canyon’s largest lead of the contest was 17 (55-38), when Makaih Williams scored on a layup with 7:25 left on the clock.
That’s when CBU picked things up on the offensive end. The Lancers scored 28 points during the next 7 minute and 4 seconds, as they made 7 of 11 shots from the field — 4 of 6 on 3-pointers — and 10 of 12 attempts at the free-throw line. Javonte Johnson sank a pair of 3s to get the deficit down to nine, and Tylen Riley made two at the line to get CBU within 63-57 with 2:23 to play.
But six points would be as close as the Lancers would get the rest of the way. Tyon Grant-Foster scored nine of his 18 points in the final 2 minutes of the game, four of which came on dunks. Ray Harrison finished with 14 points for Grand Canyon (25-7).
Riley and Johnson finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Lancers. Kendal Coleman had a double-double for CBU, scoring 11 points while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. The Lancers made 14 of their final 23 shots from the field (60.9%).
COYOTE MEN PREVAIL IN WEST REGIONAL OPENER
Andrew Henderson and Nic Welp combined for 50 points and 19 rebounds as the No. 5-seeded Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team pulled away for an 88-77 victory over No. 4 Biola in an NCAA Division II West Regional opener Friday night at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Bernardino.
Henderson recorded a double-double with game highs of 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Welp added 22 points and eight rebounds for the Coyotes.
Cal State San Bernardino (23-11) will square off against No. 1-seeded Point Loma (28-5) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Coyotes beat Point Loma 76-65 in a nonconference game back in November.
The scored was tied at 37 at halftime. Cal State San Bernardino took control with a 23-4 over a 10-minute span of the second half. Henderson scored seven points in the stretch, while Welp and Evan Oliver scored six points apiece during that run.
Cal State San Bernardino’s lead reached 21 points (74-53) when Henderson nailed a pull-up jumper with 4:55 remaining on the clock. The final margin of 11 points was the closest Biola (22-8) would get the rest of the way.
Oliver finished with 18 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, while Charlie Henderson added nine points and nine rebounds for the Coyotes.
CSUSB outrebounded Biola 39-28 on Friday. The Coyotes had a 13-8 edge on the offensive boards, helping them to a 17-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Davian Brown scored 24 points to lead the way for Biola. Daniel Esparza added 20 points, and Casey Cappo finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
CAL POLY POMONA WOMEN FALL IN OVERTIME
Jordan Allred tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 7-seeded Chico State women’s basketball team outlasted No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona 57-52 in overtime in an NCAA Division II West Regional opener Friday afternoon at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson.
Sydney Nelson scored a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds to lead the way for Cal Poly Pomona (25-6).
Chico State (24-7) raced to a 11-2 lead and extended that advantage to 18-4 late in the first period. The Wildcats led 28-19 at halftime and 40-33 after three quarters.
Cal Poly Pomona chipped away in the fourth. Breanne Ha sank a 3-pointer with 3:54 remaining to level the score at 46. The Broncos took their first lead (48-46) when Brielle Minor (10 points) scored on a layup with 3:17 left on the clock. Chico State eventually tied things at 48 when Allred scored on a layup with 41 seconds in regulation.
A layup by Nelson gave Cal Poly Pomona a 52-50 lead with 1:42 left in overtime, but that would be the final points scored by the Broncos, who missed two shots and turned the ball over once down the stretch. Allred’s layup with 22 seconds left put Chico State in front, and Jadence Clifton sealed the win with two free throws.
Meadow Aragon and Clifton had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Chico State.
